Mouth Contoured Drinking Vessel

ABSTRACT

A solution that makes it easier to drink from a cup by contouring the brim to interface with the drinker&#39;s mouth. Drinking vessels are improved by depressing the brim to channel the drink to the drinker&#39;s mouth.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application forPatent No. 62/048,900 entitled Mouth Contoured Drinking Vessel, filed onSep. 11, 2014, which is incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

THE NAMES OF PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

Not Applicable

INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to drinking vessels and a method of drinking

2. Description of the Related Art

Drinking vessels have existed for thousands of years and come in variousshapes and forms. Most vessels have a uniform upper edge or brim that issmooth and uniform in shape. Generally, a drinker tilts the vessel toher mouth or uses a straw to drink. However, straws are not alwaysappropriate and can cause slurping noises. Uniform brims are susceptibleto spillage during drinking Also, uninform brims do not inform thedrinker of where is proper or best to the drink from the vessel.

The prior art provides for pitchers, gravy boards, and measuring cupswhich help reduce spillage during pouring operations, but the prior artis not intended, designed, or optimized for drinking

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention overcomes problems with the prior art by making iteasier for a drinker to drink, sip and pour from a vessel. It alsosolves the problem of a drinker not knowing from which part of the brimto drink.

The invention overcomes the problems with the prior art by depressingthe brim in one more sections to form a valley or channel in which thedrinker can pour the drink into the drinker's mouth. The valley orchannel is optimally contoured to interface with the mouth of thedrinker.

Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodiedin example drinking vessels the invention is not limited to the detailsshown because various modifications and structural changes may be madewithout departing from the invention and the equivalents of the claims.However, the construction and method of operation of the inventiontogether with additional objects and advantages thereof will be bestunderstood from the following description of specific embodiments whenread in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a left handed coffee cup with the novel brimfor drinking.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the left handed coffee cup drawn in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top down view of the left handed coffee cup drawn in FIGS. 1and 2.

FIG. 4 is a bottom up view of the left handed coffee cup drawn in FIGS.1 through 3.

FIG. 5 is a handle side view of the left handed coffee cup drawn inFIGS. 1-3.

FIG. 6 is a handle-less side view of the left handed coffee cup drawn inFIGS. 1-3.

FIG. 7 is perspective view of the left handed coffee cup drawn in FIGS.1-6.

FIG. 8 is alternate perspective view of the left handed coffee cup drawnin FIGS. 1-7.

FIG. 9 is a front view of a tumbler with the novel brim for drinking.

FIG. 10 is a rear view of the tumbler drawn in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a top down view of the tumbler drawn in FIGS. 9-10.

FIG. 12 is a bottom up view of the tumbler drawn in FIGS. 9-11.

FIG. 13 is a side view of the tumbler drawn in FIGS. 9-12.

FIG. 14 is an alternative side view of the tumbler drawn in FIGS. 9-13.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the tumbler drawn in FIGS. 9-14

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the tumbler drawn in FIGS. 9-15.

FIG. 17 is a front view of a martini glass with the novel brim fordrinking.

FIG. 18 a rear view of the martini glass drawn in FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 is a top down view of the martini glass drawn in FIGS. 17-18.

FIG. 20 is a bottom up view of the martini glass drawn in FIGS. 17-19.

FIG. 21 is a side view of the martini glass drawn in FIGS. 17-20.

FIG. 22 is alternate side view of the martini glass drawn in FIGS.17-20.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of the martini glass drawn in FIGS. 17-22.

FIG. 24 is an alternative perspective view of the martini glass drawn inFIGS. 17-23.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a left handed coffee cup 100incorporating the novel drinking brim 102 on its upper edge. The noveldrinking brim 102 is contoured to fit with a drinker's mouth and channelthe contents of the coffee cup 100, or the drink, into the drinker'smouth, minimizing spillage and aiding the drinker to drink from thecoffee cup 100. FIGS. 2-8 illustrate multiple views of the same mug withnovel drinking brim 102. The coffee cup 100 and its novel drinking brim102 are depicted at various angles in FIGS. 1-8. However, the noveldrinking brim 102 is not visible from the back of the coffee cup 100 asshown in the rear perspective of FIG. 2.

Novel drinking brim 102 is positioned at the top edge of the openportion of coffee cup 100, as illustrated in FIG. 7. The valley orchannel of novel drinking brim 102 is optimally contoured to interfacewith the mouth of the drinker. This is the edge where a drinker's mouthtouches coffee cup 100 to drink the contents of coffee cup 100. For avessel with a handle 104, such as coffee cup 100, novel drinking brim102 is strategically at a position on the top edge of coffee cup 100relative to the handle 104 position.

Alternatively, exemplary embodiments of the instant inventionimplemented as a coffee cup include right handed embodiments where thehandle is on the right side approximately ninety degreescounter-clockwise from the novel drinking brim 102. Additionalembodiments of the instant invention include the novel drinking brim 102on both the left and right hand sides of the coffee cup 100, notdepicted, with two handles to accommodate both left and right handeddrinkers.

The instant invention relating to a drinking vessel includes differenthandle 104 orientations compared to pouring vessels. Examples of pouringvessels include: pitchers, gravy boats, and measuring cups. Unlike theinstant invention, vessels designed for pouring generally orient thepouring handle approximately 180 degrees (opposite) from the pouringspout. Moreover, the shape of the pouring vessel spout is designed forpouring, not drinking The shape of a pouring vessel spout is related toflow of the vessel contents into an open container, such as a mixingbowl. The instant invention novel drinking brim 102 is designed tocontour a drinker's mouth to provide a smooth transition from thedrinking vessel, or coffee cup 100, into the drinker's mouth. In thiscontext, a drinker's mouth includes a drinker's lips, tongue, oralmucosa, and all other parts a drinker's face that comes in contact withthe novel drinking brim 102. A drinker, in the preferred embodiment ofthe instant invention, is a human being. However, a drinker is anymammal capable of using a drinking vessel to consume contents throughthe drinker's mouth.

To accommodate a drinker's mouth, the novel drinking brim 102 protrudesoutward from the outer circumferential plane of coffee cup 100, as shownin FIGS. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. The top surface of novel drinking brim102 is contoured downward, best illustrated in FIGS. 5-8.

Although described as a coffee cup, the drinking vessel of the instantinvention includes any type of cup or vessel that has contentsconsumable by a drinker. Examples include, but are not limited to: mugs,wine glasses, tumblers, collins glasses, martini glasses, pilsnerglasses, and highball glasses. A handle is included in exampleembodiments of the instant invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1-8, the preferred embodiment of novel drinking brim102 is contoured to a drinker's mouth and slightly depressed. When usedproperly, the novel drinking brim 102 forms a channel to the drinker'smouth to optimally flow the contents of coffee cup 100 into thedrinker's mouth.

FIGS. 9-16 illustrate an example embodiment of the instant inventionusing a tumbler drinking vessel. In this embodiment, tumbler 200 doesnot include a handle for the drinker to use when consuming the contentsof tumbler 200. Instead, the outer surface of tumbler 200 has acontinuous cylindrical shape.

Novel drinking brim 102 is contoured to a drinker's mouth and channelsthe contents of the tumbler 200, or the drink, into the drinker's mouth.The contoured shaped of novel drinking brim 102, that protrudes fromtumbler 200 and is slightly depressed, optimizes the flow of thecontents of tumbler 200 into the drinker's mouth. Novel drinking brim102 minimizes spillage and assists the drinker in drinking the contentsof the tumbler 200.

Tumbler 200 does not include a handle, as compared to coffee cup 100. Asshown in FIGS. 9-16, novel drinking brim 102 is positioned on the topedge of tumbler 200. Since a drinker can pick up, or grasp, tumbler 200,in many different circumferential positions, the position of noveldrinking brim 102 along the top edge of tumbler 200 is not critical.

The shape of novel drinking brim 102 is contoured to the mouth of adrinker. As illustrated in FIGS. 9-16, novel drinking brim 102 extendsradially outward from the top edge of tumbler 200. The top portion ofnovel drinking brim 102 is depressed relative to the top edge of tumbler200. At the outermost portion of novel drinking brim 102, the bottomcontour of novel drinking brim 102 restricts back to the body of tumbler200. Overall, the shape of novel drinking brim 102 has multiple contoursto provide the best fit between the novel drinking brim 102 and themouth of the drinker.

FIGS. 17-24 illustrate an example embodiment of the instant inventionusing a martini glass. In this exemplary embodiment, martini glass 300includes novel drinking brim 102, bowl 302, stem 304, and base 306.Novel drinking brim 102 is positioned on the top edge of bowl 302, asshown in FIGS. 21-24. Novel drinking brim 102 is placed at anyorientation along the upper edge of bowl 302. The angled profile, orshape, of bowl 302 does not impact the contoured profile of noveldrinking brim 102 since novel drinking brim 102 is shaped to fit adrinker's mouth.

The bottom of bowl 302 of martini glass 300 is connected to stem 304.Stem 304 is further connected to base 306. A drinker typically holdsmartini glass 300 by stem 304 when picking up martini glass 300 to takea drink. The contents of martini glass 300 are located in bowl 302. Inan example embodiment, the contents of martini glass 300 are located inbowl 302, stem 304, and optionally in base 306. The drinker consumes thecontents of martini glass 300 by placing his mouth onto novel drinkingbrim 102.

In an exemplary embodiment, martini glass 300 includes more than onenovel drinking brim 102. Any drinking vessel can include multiple noveldrinking brims 102. Although sized may vary, a standard martini glassholds 4.5 fluid ounces. Oversized martini glasses, which can ofteninclude 12 fluid ounces, are popular at restaurant and bar locations.Multiple people order an oversized martini glass to jointly share in theconsumption of the contents of the oversized martini glass. An exampleembodiment of an oversized martini glass includes two or more noveldrinking brims 102 on the same side of the bowl 302. This allows two ormore drinkers to consume the contents of the oversized martini glass atthe same time.

In an alternative embodiment the a drinking vessel may be shared by twoor more persons through novel drinking brims on alternative sides of thevessel, such that the vessel is passed back and forth between personssharing the glass, where each person has there own novel drinking brim.

In an embodiment utilizing more than one novel drinking brim theadditional drinking brims may be further identified and/or distinguishedby marking, with color, symbol, decoration or otherwise. The identifyingchannel markers enable persons sharing a drink to identify, maintainand/or choose a specific spot on the brim. In some embodiments theextent of channel depressions forming drinking brims may vary in theextent in which they extend outward and/or downward and/or in the widthand depth of the valley channel. This enables a single vessel to havemultiple countered drinking brims. Each countered drinking brim providesa different drinking experience. The varying contours of drinking brimsmay be preferably selected by a drinker or used in a game of chanceand/or skill.

Thus, it is seen that the objects of the present invention areefficiently obtained, although modifications and changes to theinvention should be readily apparent to those having ordinary skill inthe art, which modifications are intended to be within the spirit andscope of the invention as claimed. It also is understood that theforegoing description is illustrative of the present invention andshould not be considered as limiting. Therefore, other embodiments ofthe present invention are possible without departing from the spirit andscope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vessel for drinking, comprising: a drinkingvessel and a depressed brim, said depressed brim located on an outeredge of said drinking vessel; and, said depressed brim contoured to amouth of a drinker.
 2. The vessel for drinking as recited in claim 1,wherein the drinking vessel is a coffee cup.
 3. The vessel for drinkingas recited in claim 1, wherein the drinking vessel is a tumbler.
 4. Thevessel for drinking as recited in claim 1, wherein the drinking vesselis a martini glass.
 5. The vessel for drinking as recited in claim 1,wherein the drinking vessel is a goblet.
 6. The vessel for drinking asrecited in claim 1, wherein the drinking vessel is a wine chalice. 7.The vessel for drinking as recited in claim 7 where the depressed brimis located less than one hundred forty five degrees around thecircumference of the brim from a handle.
 8. The vessel for drinking asrecited in claim 7 where the depressed brim is located approximately 90degrees around the circumference of the brim from a handle.
 9. Thevessel for drinking as recited in claim 8 where the vessel has more thanone handle.
 10. A method of drinking, via a drinking vessel with one ormore depressions in the brim of the drinking vessel, comprising: placinga mouth on at least depression in the brim of a drinking vessel, usingsaid depression to channel the drink to said mouth.
 11. The method ofclaim 10 further comprising: placing a second mouth on at least oneadditional depression in the brim of a drinking vessel, using saidadditional depression to channel the drink to said second mouth.
 12. Themethod of claim 11 further comprising: using channel markers associatedwith one or more depressions to select the depression associated withone or more drinkers.
 13. The method of claim 11 further comprising:using channel markers associated with one or more depressions toidentify the depression associated with one or more drinkers.